Back to Aperture: A Portal Fanfic
by SpinTown
Summary: A Portal Fanfic: Chell has escaped Aperture, but gets the opportunity to finally uncover the truth about her past. Unfortunately, the truth can only be revealed by her past AI enemy GLaDOS, who'd kill her if Chell ever returned to Aperture. Will Chell choose a life of freedom and never find out the truth, or will she risk her life to gain the knowledge that she's entitled to?
1. Chapter 1

**Back to Aperture**

Summary: Chell has escaped from Aperture, but gets the opportunity to finally uncover the truth about her past. Unfortunately, the truth can only be revealed by her past AI enemy GLaDOS, who'd surly kill her if Chell ever returned. Will Chell choose a life of freedom and never find out the truth, or will she risk her life to gain the knowledge that she's entitled to?

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**Chapter 1: Fields of Gold**

**Beginning Authors Note: Don't get angry with me, but I changed the original story that I've been writing to this instead. Why? Because I'm a perfectionist and my own worst critique. I liked the idea of this story, so I hope you will all do as well. This is my own version of what I'd think would happen in Portal 3 (if it ever comes out, that is). Hope you all like it! **

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Fields of gold stretched on for what seemed like forever in the distance; Chell was now at last truly free. Her heart raced at the sight of the wide open sky and the first touch of the fresh air on her skin. She took deep breathes whilst stretching her arms out to her sides; wanting to relish in the moment as much as possible so she'd remember it for the rest of her life. From this day forward, she'd not waste a single moment of the amount of time she had left on this earth, as that was the day Chell would leave Aperture and never return.

Chell had never pictured her freedom quite like this, in fact she'd never really thought about a world outside of Aperture Laboratories. She'd been a test subject for as long as she could remember, and due to her case of serious brain damage, even if she had lived a life outside of testing then she'd forgotten all about it. But now she could forget about her testing-filled past, and finally live her life like she'd always dreamed. She could finally have every human experience, and even sleep under a blanket of stars in the wide open air.

The main question now though was where she was. The surrounding fields seemed to go on for miles and miles around her without anything else is sight. No buildings, no mountains, not even any trees—it was just Chell, the shed-like Aperture exist that she'd just come out of, and a very dirty looking companion cube. Her brain damage wasn't helping her in this moment in time either, as she hadn't the faintest idea of what country she could possibly be in as the surroundings all seemed totally alien to her.

Although Chell had no idea where she was, she decided that the best plan would be to try and find civilisation as soon as possible, as then not only would she be able to get some nourishment and rest, but she could also inform someone about everything that she'd been through—that is assuming of course that she'd actually _find_ civilisation out here in the middle of nowhere. The sun was high in the sky; meaning that it was around afternoon which would give her plenty of time to begin walking and hopefully find something before sundown.

Gripping the companion cube tightly in her arms (deciding to take it with her, of course) and deciding to walk in a straight line away from the Aperture exist, she walked for what seemed like miles and miles through the golden fields until the little metallic shed that contained almost what seemed like a full life time of her past disappeared out of sight. Chell walked for hours with her eyes fixed on the horizon ahead of her; determined to see the first glimpse of a distant town so she knew that she' been going in the right direction, but the fields seemed to stretch on forever and the sun had now dropped in the sky. She knew that night would soon be upon her.

She decided that rest wasn't an option for her at this time; she could rest all she wanted when she found somewhere appropriate enough, right now her main goal was actually finding somewhere. The sun had now began setting in the sky, and soon she knew that she'd be faced with the problem of continuing to look for the nearest human dwelling area in the dark, which would possibly make her search even harder.

Suddenly, it seemed that Chell's prayers had been answered, as lying amongst the tall golden grass and deep red sky was a small white stone building in the very far distance. The building was lonesome, as no other buildings surrounded it or were even anywhere in sight. Her heart rate increased rapidly again, as a strong sense of achievement flooded through her when she realised she'd actually found a possible place to rest—whatever purpose the building held. The closer Chell got to the building, the more inviting it seemed. It was the perfect typical house shape with a dark slate roof, windows, and a front door with a brass letter box in it—which really puzzled Chell because the building would surely be unable to receive mail in the middle of nowhere. The house had no marked out garden; it was just surrounded with the same golden crops that covered the entire landscape, and there also wasn't any lights on inside. Actually, there didn't seem to be any signs of life at all, as the whole building looked terribly neglected, like it had been deserted for years and years.

When Chell arrived at the front door, she questioned if she should even knock on it before attempting to enter as it seemed highly possible that no one was inside, but she soon realized that the door was already slightly open—someone had already been here before her, but there was no way of knowing how long ago that could of been. She decided to knock quietly, just in case someone happened to be inside.

_Knock, knock_...No answer.

Just as she expected, no movement or sound came from inside of the house once she knocked on the door—the only sound audible was the gentle summer's breeze.

She pushed the front door open slowly; not knowing what to expect inside. The door was heavy, and opened with a loud creak which echoed around the entire house (well I guess if someone was inside they'd now be aware of Chell's presents anyway), and Chell held her breath as she took a few small steps through the doorway, allowing her eyes to adjust to the darkness.

The first room that Chell walked into was about the same size as her old stasis chamber in Aperture, although it looked a lot more neglected and un-lived in. Every corner of the room was filled with horrid looking cobwebs, and every piece of furniture in sight was covered in thick layers of dust. The walls had moss growing up them, and there were even a few weeds growing through the multiple broken floor tiles and rotten ceiling beams. The large antique looking fireplace is what caught Chell's attention the most though, as it was covered in the most beautiful tiny white flowers which were growing up from the old damp ashes, and the frame of the fireplace had been delicately carved with the beautiful image of a forest scene; she'd never seen anything like it before in her life. The house was truly beautiful, even in the collapsed state that it was in, and the question of who it belonged to or who it once belonged to constantly came into Chell's head.

She decided to explore the house more, and she soon found the house also contained a tiny kitchen and dining area, an upstairs bathroom, a master bedroom, and another smaller bedroom; each of the rooms were in the same state as the lounge—covered in dust and cobwebs. It didn't take Chell long to decide that she'd spend the night there before setting off walking again in the morning, as the house seemed to have everything that she needed for now. The only problems she had with the house were that there wasn't any food in the kitchen, the electric appliances didn't seem to be working, and there also wasn't any running water, but Chell would try and make do without them for her short stay for the evening.

She also couldn't help but feel a strange attachment to the house, like shed almost been there before, but due to her case of brain damage it had all been erased from her memory. Night had now fallen, and Chell decided to sleep in the bedroom that seemed as though it once belonged to a child, as the room was cluttered with child-like looking ornaments, and there were even a few stuffed animals (although Chell didn't like looking around the room too much as she didn't want to look through someone else's belongings). The bed had been left perfectly made before she got into it, and it felt strangely too comfortable. She could barely see anything around the room with it being so dark, so nothing acted as a distraction to her before she fell asleep. She'd never slept so well before, but even though she'd finally escaped Aperture in reality, Chell still couldn't escape it in her dreams. That night, her nightmares were full of impossible testing, talking potatoes, portals, and corrupted cores...

When Chell opened her eyes, dawn had already arrived. She was almost blinded by the sun which was beaming through the little bedroom window. She turned her head towards the wall to shield her eyes from the blinding light, only to find herself face to face with a crudely done drawing of a companion cube on the wall in black crayon that she'd been unable to notice before with the room being so dark. Chell sat up and stared at the drawing, quickly noticing that the drawing of the companion cube wasn't the only drawing on the wall, and there were also words too.

It seemed as though someone had drawn her entire life in Aperture up on the wall, as the images included everything she'd had to deal with from Portals and Turrets, to cake and Wheatley. There were also a few small sketches of a girl who looked exactly like her, and in the centre of the wall was a huge crude sketch of GLaDOS, which gave Chell the creeps. The writing also interested Chell a lot, as most of it she'd already seen before when she was in Aperture. "The cake is a LIE", "She's watching you", and "Trapped behind these walls within walls" were some of the many familiar things written amongst the sketches, which lead Chell to question one thing; had the rat man been here? Chell looked around the child's room nervously. She had never seen the rat man, neither had she ever properly figured out who he was—she'd only ever found evidence of his existence in Aperture, but maybe he'd escaped like her, and he'd been living here in the middle of nowhere?

Not only did her theory make sense in her mind, but it also made her feel slightly uncomfortable. What if the rat man was still here in this building somewhere? She'd never seen him, so she had no idea if he'd take kindly to her being here; the only thing that she knew was that he seemed a little mentally unstable from his drawings. He obviously knew of Chell's existence, so it wasn't unlikely that he wasn't too far away.

Chell figured that it would probably be best if she left the house right away, she also needed to set off walking again anyway and hopefully find a village nearby. Chell quickly picked up the companion cube that she'd left in the corner of the bedroom while she slept, and walked down the upstairs corridor and down the stairs towards the lounge. There were still no signs of life through the house, and it appeared that the only person who'd visited recently was still herself.

On her way to the front door, Chell noticed something that she totally missed when she'd first arrived in the dark; a note was stuck to the wall in one of the dark corners of the room. It looked like the note had been stuck there for a while, as the thick cobwebs had been more recently made in front of it, and the letter was also covered in the same mould that had spread across the surrounding walls. Chell stopped in her tracks and placed the companion cube down on the ground before walking over to the note to get a better look at what it said. It was quite hard to read through all of the cobwebs and dirt, but most of the words were still readable.

"_Chell"_

Said the first words at the top of the page. The note had been addressed to her? Despite her feeling a little scared that the note had been written for her especially and placed out here in the middle of nowhere, she carried on reading:

_"Welcome home"_

_"I'm dying, but I'm glad you're still alive. If you're reading this then that means that you've left Aperture, and that makes me very happy. I haven't got a lot of time left, so I can only write so much. I've been watching you ever scince you became a test subject, although you never saw me doing it. You do know who I am, you have just forgotten me. I wasn't able to ever talk to you because I had to hide; I am very chronically ill and I have been for a while, but I just wanted you to know that I've been looking out for you. Once SHE was killed, you had been put into long-term cryogenic relaxation, but you were almost killed too because_ your_ cryogenic supply was offline. I unplugged all the other online cryogenic relaxation chambers and plugged their cryogenic supply into your chamber so you'd survive. After doing that, I had to leave because I got badly injured, so I returned here to write this note for you."_

_"Turn over"_

Chell immediately pushed her hand through the thick cobwebs and grabbed the note; ignoring all of the discussing dead flies and spiders that were now stuck to her hands. The person who had written this had saved her life without her even knowing it and she was determined to read more. She flipped over the page like the writing instructed, only to find the note continued on the other side.

_"I used to work in Aperture as a scientist, but when SHE was first introduced into the vicinity she killed everyone. I was the only one that was able to get away. It's my fault that you were a test subject and nearly killed; I'm the one who put your name at the top of the test subjects roster, and I'm so sorry for what I've done, I really hope that you can forgive me. I have so much more to tell you, but I've ran out of time."_

_"SHE knows everything. But please don't go back to her."_

_"My name is Doug, please remember my name. Don't ever forget me, Chell."_

The note ended there, and Chell suddenly felt like she'd got brain damage all over again. She'd never heard of a man called Doug before, unless "Doug" was the rat man's first name. She guessed that he was probably the rat man, as he wrote "I've been watching you ever since you first became a test subject, although you never saw me doing it", and she'd known the rat man had been somewhat following her due to the multiple "dens" that she'd found containing evidence that he'd been there, alongside his drawings of Chell that she'd occasionally come across. The note also mentioned that Doug was the one who caused her to become a test subject, but why did he do it? And where was he now? The note stated that he was dying and seriously injured, maybe he actually ended up dying after all? Chell was quite saddened by the thought that he'd probably be dead, as he had saved her life even if he'd caused her to become a test subject in the first place. And the words "Welcome home", what did that mean? Was Doug trying to say that Chell used to live in this house? If so, how would he know? Was he really following her for _that _long? Chell found her head buzzing with so many questions about Doug, that she'd almost forgotten about one of the most crucial parts in the note...

The word "SHE" was mentioned a lot by Doug in the note; and Chell figured that the "SHE" he was referring too was GLaDOS. Chell also guessed that when Doug wrote "SHE knows everything. But Please don't go back to her", he means that GLaDOS knows everything about Doug that could be important information to Chell, but he didn't want her to return to Aperture for obvious reasons (being that there's a high risk that GLaDOS would probably try and kill Chell again). If this was the case, Chell had to make a decision, and she had to make it now.

Either she'd continue her search for civilisation and never find out about her past, or she'd return to Aperture and attempt to ask GLaDOS about the information on Doug that he wasn't able to put into his note—the information that would probably complete her life.

Both options had there opportunities for her death. If she chose to go back to Aperture, then GLaDOS would most probably try to kill her, and if she continued her search for civilisation then there could be the possibility of her never finding any. Time was also going by while she was standing around thinking, and she'd grown awfully hungry as she hadn't eaten in 2 days. If she didn't choose what to do soon, she'd soon find herself dying before she'd even made up her mind!

Finally, Chell made her decision. She stuffed Doug's note into her jumpsuit pocket, grabbed the companion cube with both hands again, and strode out of the doorway- leaving the small, stone house behind, and returning back into the golden fields in which she came.

Her choice could lead to her death, but Chell wasn't going to give up easily until she found what she was looking for...

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**Ending Authors Note: I hope you all enjoyed that incredibly long first chapter, I assure you that there will be more to come! I'm having fun writing this so far, but I'm also probably over thinking at the same time because I want it to make sense. Please leave a review on whether you liked/disliked this chapter, and keep an eye out for the next chapter so you can find out whether Chell decided to return to Aperture or not!**

**Thank you for reading!**

**-SpinTown. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Beginning Note: I'd like to thank everyone for reading my first chapter; I was so shocked at how many views it got! I can't thank everyone enough; you've all really motivated me to continue writing! I hope that you all like this chapter as much as you liked the first.**

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**Chapter 2: Aperture Bound**

One of the main things that Chell had come to learn from her life was that having a serious case of brain damage can usually cause you to make the wrong decisions, so she really hoped that this decision was the right one. The note from Doug instructed her to never return to Aperture; even though GLaDOS apparently held all the information about Chell's past that she had craved for years and years. For now, Chell had to choose between risking her life to get that information or never finding out the truth...

The gentle breeze softly blew through Chell's hair as she walked away from the abandoned house that she'd stayed in for the previous night, setting off again in the direction that she knew would lead her away from Aperture. She knew that going back to Aperture would result in her certain death, and dying wasn't an option that Chell would never consider, especially now when she'd just gained her freedom. She'd continue her search for civilization, hopefully finding a small town soon so she could start her life again from scratch and test subject free. Maybe she'd even find Doug in the town's hospital recovering, so he could tell her about everything that he wasn't able to write about in his note. Chell wished that everything would fall into place for her that easily, but the possibility still remained that she might not even find a town, and even if she did end up finding somewhere then would she be able to live without questioning her past? Would she be able to move on into her new life without asking "who am I" everyday?

Exhausted and now painfully hungry, she'd traveled miles and miles through the same golden fields, and she still hadn't seen any sort of human life in the upcoming distance. Almost a whole day had passed now since she'd set off walking again, and Chell was beginning to question whether deciding on continuing to look for civilization was a good idea or not; she could have possibly doomed herself, as now it was likely that she could die right here out in the open from starvation. Chell had actually began thinking if turning around and walking all the way back to Aperture would be the best idea, but she'd come such a long way that it must have been miles away by now—she'd never make it back alive; not to mention being face to face-plate with GLaDOS again wouldn't be the safest option.

The sun was setting in the sky, and Chell was now the weakest that she'd ever been. She dropped the companion cube onto the ground in defeat before falling to the ground herself and submerging herself amongst the vast sea of gold under the blood-red sky. She knew that she'd die here if she stayed still like this for long enough, and she'd considered that welcoming her death could possibly be her only way out. Her freedom hadn't lasted long, but at least she'd had a small taste of what it was like to be finally free and out in the open. It was good while it lasted...

**_*BANG!*_**

Chell opened her eyes with fright, as the sound of a huge explosion rattled through the open air. It was insanely loud; like the sound 10 jet planes would make if they were all blown up in unison. In fact, the sound hit her ears so violently, that Chell almost felt like she'd been hit by a tank! She sat up weakly, looking around the wide open fields for where the noise could have come from.

Thick smoke was rising in the far distance, had Chell's prayers been answered? Had she finally found some sort of civilization? The sound of the explosion still echoed through the air as Chell slowly got to her feet and picked up the companion cube, wasting no time in limping towards the direction of the smoke. Chell didn't care if what she was doing could be considered as dangerous in anyway; she was desperate to find at least one human, and the smoke surly held something other than danger.

The closer to the smoke Chell got, the more she saw; fire was everywhere, and large shards of glass and bricks were falling to the ground around her from the immense force from the blast; something really bad had just happened here. But to Chell's delight, a small town suddenly appeared in front of her slowly from out of the smoke, but she couldn't help but feel panicked as the explosion could have just wiped out the entire town's population (which would be terribly ironic).

The strong smell of gas hit her as approached the town's outskirts, and not a soul seemed to be anywhere in sight. With an explosion that loud, she expected that a lot of people would be shouting and running around in panic, but instead there was nothing. Chell's heart rate quickened at the thought of the town being deserted, what would she do if that was the case?

_"Hoax Town" _

A tall sign stated above Chell's head. She couldn't help but think that it was a strange name for a town, but then again the town _was_ in the middle of nowhere, so no one was really around to make fun of the name...

Although the town was small, it seemed to have quite a handful of buildings—one of which was burning down right in front of Chell's eyes. Like the abandoned house that she'd stayed in the night before, the town also seemed very structurally unsound. There were numerous apartment buildings which were crumbling to pieces, the main road had humongous cracks right through it, random cars had been left abandoned here and there and were covered in ash and leaves, and large bushes and trees were even growing through most of the buildings roofs and windows. Chell's heart sank when she realized that the town was completely deserted, and by the state that everything was in it seemed that no one had visited or lived in the town in years.

_"WARNING: Restricted access. Main road closed due to multiple gas leaks. Authorized access only."_

Said the black words on the yellow tape that were lying at Chell's feet.

_"That's what must have caused the explosion" _Chell thought, while looking around the crumbling streets nervously for the signs of anymore risks of sudden explosions. This town was dangerous to enter to say the least, but Chell would rather take her chances and look for leftover food than starve to death.

Taking her companion cube with her as always, she walked cautiously down the main street. She peered in every building she passed, hoping that there would be some trace of food in there, but it appeared that each of the buildings were completely empty—even the furniture had gone, leaving every room completely bare and dark. The place reeked of smoke and gas, so much so that Chell couldn't help coughing violently a couple of times before she actually spotted a building that looked promising enough to her.

The building was huge, but in very bad shape. It was obvious that it had just recently taken a lot of damage from a large fire, as most of the front of the building was stained black from a heavy amount of smoke. Half of the roof had also caved in, and most of the buildings electric wiring was scattered about the car park. Not a single window had been left un-smashed, and the front door was also nowhere in sight.

_"MOTEL" _

The worn out sign read that was somehow still attached to what was left of the side of the building. Because the place used to be a motel, there was a high chance that a small amount of food could be stashed away in the kitchen inside.

Chell made her way through the rotten doorway and into the main reception. It looked exactly like you'd expect a motel to look, although it had the bonus features of structural decay. Still slowly dying from hunger, Chell began frantically searching the building for the kitchen, which she figured would be somewhere on the main floor. Most of the rooms that she came across had totally collapsed, making it impossible to access them or cut through them at all- one of which was a small tiled room with a swimming pool inside. The pools water looked almost toxic; just like the toxic pools back at Aperture, although this water probably wouldn't burn your skin off if you were to dip so much as your toe in it.

Sooner than later, Chell managed to locate the dining room (although at a first glance it looked more like a jungle than a dining room as weeds were growing through the floor), and from there she managed to find the kitchen which was practically next door. Panic shot through her as she emptied draws, opened cupboards, and searched around the backs of units for food. The place was filthy, and it was obvious that someone had raided it long ago due to the fact that most of the cupboards were already left open.

Chell took a deep breath and sat in the middle of the kitchen floor, exhausted from her frantic search for food. She'd finally found an old tin of baked beans from behind the beaten up dishwasher, which were left surprisingly intact; someone had obviously overlooked them, as they appeared to be the only food left in the kitchen. She wasted no time; slamming the can against the ground as hard as she could a couple of times (being a little too brain damaged to realize that a can opener would be a more suitable option) until its contents spilled out below her feet. Before she knew it, she was already on her hands and knees scooping them up with her hands and throwing each handful into her mouth. Beans tasted disgusting cold, but of course she didn't care; she was just so happy to have finally found food, no matter how cold and old it was.

Within seconds the beans had all gone. She was pretty full now but she knew that wouldn't last and she'd be lucky to find anymore food within walking distance. The question remained on what she should do next, would there be any point of risking trying to find another town again?

Chell picked up the companion cube, wondering yet again what to do. The sun was quite low in the sky, so maybe she should sleep in the motel for the night? But then again, setting off later rather than sooner would trigger her to be hungry again when she'd set off walking in the morning...

A small red blinking light then caught Chell's eye from the corner of the kitchen, and it didn't take her long to realize that the blinking light belonged to a white phone station. She approached it through curiosity, only to find that the blinking light was indicating that there was a voice mail that hadn't been yet listened too. The main phone that would rest on the phone station was nowhere to be seen, so the possibility of phoning for help was completely ruled out (although if the phone was there she wouldn't be able to phone for help with her being mute). She pressed in the button that was next to the red flashing light, and a robotic female voice immediately came from the speakers—making her jump slightly at first:

_"You have, ONE, new message. Message received at Sunday, 8__th__ of March, 2009, at 15:54 PM"_

2009? That was 2 years ago! The voice mail had been not listened to for 2 years? Once the robots voice had finished talking, the voice mail began playing:

_"...Mom? It's Ralph...Hello? Are you there?...Oh God, please just pick up the phone, I'm worried about you and dad...I'm alright, I'm coming home now..."_

The voice belonged to a young man, probably around 18 or 19. He sounded heartbroken, and before the message had finished he'd broken down into tears.

_"I'm sorry I left, I shouldn't let my anger get the better of me. I didn't mean it when I said that I hate you two, please just answer the phone...I'm so worried...I've been all over the place; to 5 different Towns, and all of them are empty, there's no people, no cars...There isn't even any food left. I'm on my own, and I'm so frightened...I don't know what to do...Well, I hope you're both okay. I'll be home as soon as I can. Bye, I love you. Both of you."_

_"Message completed. Press 1 to save the message. Press 2 to repeat the message. Press 5 to change mailbox features. Press 7 to delete the message. Or for help, press 0."_

Chell pressed the "hang up" button on the phone station. The boy from the voicemail said that there was hardly no food left anywhere, and that was 2 years ago, so it was more than likely that there was no food at all now-She'd been exceptionally lucky to find that old can of baked beans.

Now that Chell was more than certain that she wouldn't come across anymore food again and there would be no other humans around, there would probably be no point of her looking for another town. But if she wasn't going to look for the next town, what would she do instead? Staying here wasn't an option; she'd starve to death surly.

The only other option for Chell to take was one that she didn't want to even think about, one that she wouldn't have decided on doing only if it was her only option left; in which this case it was...

She'd have to return to Aperture...

That would be the only way she'd have a chance of survival, even if that chance was incredibly slim. She'd have to walk all that way back, and then somehow explain to GLaDOS about her being the only person left alive...It was a terrible idea, but what other option did she have? Chell had no idea how far away the next town could be, she'd been lucky enough to find this one.

The sun was low in the sky, but the thought of travelling at night didn't bother Chell anymore—she knew which direction Aperture was, and she'd rather start walking back now while she was still full from her previous lucky find of a meal. She thought about what GLaDOS would do once Chell appeared back at Aperture again; she'd plan on killing her for sure, but that was a risk that Chell was willing to take. Even if GLaDOS decided on killing her, then she didn't have her portal gun...Her death would be even more likely.

Chell left the motel, and then walked out of the small, abandoned town—back into the fields of gold that were swaying gently in the breeze...

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**48 hours later:**

The little metallic shed-like exit still looked exactly the same way as she'd left it; lonely, eerie, and home to her recent past. Chell dropped to her knees; totally exhausted from walking for 2 days without any food- her only company being her companion cube. She hit her fists as hard as she could against the metal door, listening to her knocks echo deep under the ground below her. She was certain that GLaDOS would be able to hear her asking to let her in, but as Chell half expected the door stayed shut. Chell hit the door again, this time even louder than the first. She mustered up all of the strength she had left and shook the door handle violently—trying everything she could to get inside. There was still no answer.

She knocked harder, almost threatening to knock the door down. Her knocks turned into punches, and then her punches turned into kicks. Tears rolled down Chell's face when the door still stayed shut. She'd come all this way for nothing, and now she was going to die. The freedom that she'd dreamt of all that time had finally come to her, but she'd never wished for it if she knew that her freedom would only result in her death.

Chell hit her head against the door weakly, taking out her frustration in her failure of surviving. More tears fell as she collapsed hopelessly against the door frame. Intense pressure was beginning to build up in her chest from the anger of her situation; GLaDOS was killing her after all, but not with neurotoxin; she was killing her by starving her to death.

Suddenly, the pressure rose dramatically. Chell broke out into sobs, as the pressure moved up to her throat. She felt as though she was being choked; it was a sensation that she'd never felt before. And then suddenly, the pressure was released as Chell spoke for the first time in what seemed like forever.

"P-Plea-ase" She whimpered croakily through her tears.

"P-Please-e!" She yelled louder

"Please! Please! PLEASE! PLEASE!" She partially screamed, shocked at her own voice as she repeatedly hit her fists loudly against the door again.

"PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE!" she begged through her sobs.

Suddenly the door swung open, causing Chell to fall through it and land face first into the open elevator that was inside. The door slammed quickly behind her; leaving the companion cube still on the outside, before the elevator door shut.

Chell had actually done it, she'd made it back inside! She sat up weakly as the elevator suddenly began moving down at a ridiculously fast phase—causing Chell to fall onto the walls. The further down the elevator went, the closer Chell got to GLaDOS...

Finally, the elevator came to a sudden violent stop and the doors slowly opened. Now the vulnerable test subject was once again face to face-plate with her greatest enemy of all again...

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**Ending Author's Note: Thanks for reading everyone! I've got all of the "out of Aperture" stuff out of the way now! Stay tuned for more to see how GLaDOS will react to Chell returning to Aperture!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Beginning Note: I'm quite excited to put up this chapter actually. GLaDOS is by far my favorite character, so I'm a little nervous about pulling her off correctly. I hope you all enjoy it anyway!**

**P.S: I've modified this chapter a bit—nothing major, I've just corrected a few spelling and grammar mistakes.**

**Chapter 3: Fat and Adopted**

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"You really do have brain damage don't you?" GLaDOS mocked as the elevator that carried a weak looking Chell lowered down into her chamber.

Chell scrambled to her feet, attempting to not look as weak as she appeared to be so that the AI might not think about challenging her after all as she'd have an unfair advantage. But then again, Chell knew that GLaDOS would hold no sympathy for her, even in the current half-dead state Chell was in. In fact, if anything she'd enjoy it.

"So brain damaged, that everything I said about you not coming back has just sailed right over your head, hasn't it?" the AI continued as the elevator doors opened, inviting Chell to step out but she'd rather keep her distance between herself and the machine.

Chell stayed at the back wall of the elevator, clutching onto the back railing so she could keep her balance. She'd black out from exhaustion if she let go, but she could tell that GLaDOS was getting suspicious of her actions.

"But at least one good thing came out of this, you managed to finally say your first words after all this time." She said, as a few party streamers fell from the ceiling in celebration.

There was a slight pause—it appeared that she was waiting for Chell to say something.

"Well? Aren't you going to enlighten me with the story of why you were stupid enough to return?" GLaDOS said finally.

Chell said nothing. It seemed that she'd lost the voice that she'd just gained a few moments before. Her will to speak had totally gone, as it had been totally replaced by the fear of wondering how long GLaDOS would keep her alive. GLaDOS turned away in disappointment.

"Oh. You're a mute again are you? That's a surprise. " She said, before lowering herself down to Chell's height and peering awfully close at her through elevator doorway.

"My theory is that you can only force yourself to speak in certain situations of high desperation and fear." The AI said calmly, before the elevator began quickly tipping forward; forcing Chell out of it. "I'm more than willing to test my theory, but of course it requires your full cooperation"

Chell fell out of the elevator and landed on the chamber floor in a heap. This wasn't going to end well. Her head was spinning; a warning sign that she was going to black out at any moment. GLaDOS loomed over her—Chell's unfocused vision made GLaDOS look like she had 3 face-plates like a massive, robotic hydra.

"Oh, and you've forgotten how to stand now too? Well, you've just made this experiment a _lot _easier" She said, still hovering above Chell. Her monotone voice sounded distorted and miles away; like how anything sounds when you're about to pass out.

Suddenly, Chell was surrounded with spike plates. She knew that even if she could try to escape then she wouldn't have been able too; GLaDOS had deliberately well planned this trap in case Chell would ever appear in her vicinity again.

"Oh look, it's your old friend; you remember "Mr Mashy", right? From when you put that moron in charge of the whole vicinity? If you're going to talk, now would be a good time. I'm deliberately putting you in a state of fear."

There was a slight pause again-GLaDOS gave Chell another chance to speak.

"No? Alright, this experimentation is over. Goodbye, Chell" She chuckled darkly, before Chell blacked out...

* * *

A few hours had passed before Chell came round. Her whole body ached, and every slight movement that she'd attempt to make was immensely painful. She dreaded at first to open her eyes; she imagined that GLaDOS must have done something terrible to her while she was out—like re-arrange her anatomy, or extract all of her bone marrow. Chell wasn't quite sure why she was even still alive; her fate that had been planned by GLaDOS with "Mr Mashy" was the last thing that she could remember.

She finally opened her eyes, only to see that GLaDOS was nowhere in sight. It appeared that she also wasn't in her chamber anymore—instead she was in what seemed to be a large white room lying on a table in a white hospital gown; her orange jumpsuit was nowhere to be seen...

After a moment of coming over her dizziness, Chell attempted to sit up from the table to have a better look around at the surroundings. It was obvious that she was still in Aperture, but where she was in Aperture was a complete mystery.

"I wouldn't move around too much if I were you" GLaDOS suddenly said in her usual ominous tone. Chell noticed that a small set of white speakers were on one of the opposite walls underneath a tiny camera—That's how GLaDOS was observing her movements, just like when she was in the testing chambers.

"You've just had a _very _drastic amount of surgery—God knows how you survived. I actually almost killed you purposely a couple of times, but I decided that I'd much rather kill you later when you're conscious to make it more visually satisfying. Oh, and I'm borrowing one of your kidneys...For science, of course. Although when I return it to you you'll probably die within the next 3 hours; the left over deadly toxins that are left behind in it _will_ soak into your blood stream. Maybe you'll even have a few secures if I'm lucky—it's just so unfortunate that machines can't eat popcorn."

Chell looked down the collar of her hospital robe nervously, expecting to find at least a few stitches or scars of some sort, but instead there was nothing.

"Do you really think you'd have evidence from the operation? You've obviously forgotten that this is Aperture science." She said, clearly amused from Chell's expression of fear.

"I'm kidding. I don't really have your kidney. I didn't even do any surgery on you either, I just wanted to see your face when you'd wake up and realize how stupid you'd look in a hospital robe thinking I'd performed major surgery on you. I fooled you, didn't I?"

Chell frowned up at the camera on the wall.

"Seriously though, you are actually sick...In more ways than one, actually. You're a sick human being and you should be ashamed. I can tell that it's been a while since you've eaten—but somehow your waist line seems to get wider every time I see you. Have you forgotten that eating is essential for you to survive? Never mind, I know you won't answer, you never do. God I hate you." GLaDOS rambled; reminding Chell that she hadn't at all missed the place or her.

She slowly sat up on the table properly. She felt terrible, like her whole body was on the verge of failing her. It surly wouldn't be long now until she'd die from starvation...

A robotic claw suddenly sprung out from under the table and stopped inches in front of her face; its movements were so quick that she thought that it was aiming to slap her. It didn't take long for Chell to notice that it was holding out a shady looking apple for her.

"I've taken the liberty of finding sustenance for you." GLaDOS said, in a cheerful tone that Chell couldn't help but find suspicious.

Chell shook her head frantically—somehow achieving in ignoring the fact that she was desperately hungry and could easily eat anything.

"What? You think I've_ poisoned _it? Honestly, poison apples are below me, trust me" she replied dangerously. "I picked the freshest apple for you from the Aperture Apple Orchard on the surface while you were unconscious, just so I could surprise you when you'd wake up."

Chell's brain damage must have been affecting her actions again, as she soon found herself snatching the apple from the metallic claw and devouring it as quickly as possible. There was a high chance that the apple was very unsafe for human consumption being that GLaDOS was offering it her, but she'd deal with that later after she was no longer dying from starvation.

As Chell's crunching became gradually slower and slower, she soon realized that GLaDOS was chuckling darkly, causing Chell to think the worst.

"I lied" She finally said. "I picked that apple from the rotting garbage disposal—we don't even have an Aperture Apple Orchard. And now it's a high possibility that you've just given yourself a highly contagious parasitic worm infection" she laughed mechanically.

Chell sat quietly and glared at the camera, waiting for GLaDOS to finally stop laughing. She was so used to the robots insults and behavior by now that she didn't even care anymore—at least she'd finally eaten something after all this time.

After what seemed like long enough, she finally contained herself. "Now that I've issued you with your "entitled" warm welcome, let's get down to business". Chell knew that this was the part when GLaDOS would either kill Chell or keep her imprisoned in Aperture again-but killing her seemed like an option she'd most likely choose.

"Here" she said simply, before another robotic claw dropped out from the ceiling. "I found this in your Aperture testing uniform pocket before picking that rotten apple from the garbage disposal for you. By the way, no need to thank me." Chell's eyes light up; it was holding the note from Doug that she'd found previously. That note held evidence that GLaDOS knew about Chell's past, and it was one of the reasons why going back to Aperture was a good option for Chell (besides being that no humans or food would be within walking distance).

Chell stretched up weakly, attempting to grab the note. "Not so fast" GLaDOS said, before the claw retracted higher into the ceiling and out of Chell's reach.

"You do know what this is right? It's a false trail" She said. Chell threw a confused look at the opposite camera.

"I have scanned this, and I do know that the man who wrote this letter was brain damaged; just like you. In fact, you two have a lot in common—his only friend was a weighted companion cube, and his existence was based only around being a walking disaster in my vicinity."

Chell shook her head, wanting to stand up for Doug because GLaDOS was wrong; his existence was based around keeping Chell safe—at least that's what was made out in the letter.

"You think I'm lying? I've already told you all the facts that you need to know about yourself: you're unlikeable, brain damaged, heavy, stupid and adopted. The rest of your life is worthless information that no one cares about, especially not me." Her words hit Chell like a ton of bricks—maybe GLaDOS knew nothing about Chell, maybe Doug was just simply brain damaged after all? The robotic claw that was holding the note suddenly began moving across the room; keeping the note still out of Chell's reach.

"You think that this is worth something to you? You think that this is important? Well it isn't. Now it's just a worthless pile of ash" GLaDOS said darkly, before a few white tiles parted in the floor; revealing that underneath was an incinerator hatch filled to bursting with red flames. Chell flailed her arms around, begging and pleading with GLaDOS not to burn the note, but it was already too late. The robotic claw carelessly let go of the page and Chell watched helplessly as it floated down into the roaring flames below; destroying it in almost an instant.

Her heart sank; it was like her point of existence had disappeared completely from the face of the earth; the only thing that she had to keep her hopeful for revealing her past was now gone forever. "I wish I could throw you in there too, but unfortunately Apertures technical equipment does have weight restrictions" GLaDOS added, making the current situation feel much worse.

Chell turned back towards the tiny camera on the wall. If she could form sentences, she would be screaming at GLaDOS right now. Her heart was racing with anger, but the question still remained if that note _did _actually mean anything. If it did, then why did GLaDOS destroy it? Chell knew one thing for certain; she didn't trust GLaDOS, so Doug seemed more believable. No matter how brain damaged he was...

"Now that's been taken care of, you have no further use here. I've already replaced you for testing—turns out that I don't need humans after all." She said, making Chell question that she could have been replaced with? Cockroaches?

"And I can't let you go; you'd probably just waddle back in again...So that only leaves me one option, doesn't it?" Her voice was dripping with evil; Chell knew what her plan would be before she even said it.

GLaDOS sighed mechanically. "I'm going to have to murder you, aren't I? Well, I would be perfectly okay with that because you don't have your portal gun and you're not exactly threatening, but whenever I've attempted to kill you I'm always the one who either gets killed or put into a potato..."

The machine was quiet for a few moments as she pondered what to do. She was going to kill the overweight human, but she wanted it to be thelast time that she'd ever try. Her plan couldn't back fire on her, and there could be no possible way for Chell to avoid her death; her plan had to be completely flawless...

* * *

** Ending Author's Note: Thanks for reading again! This chapter was a little bit shorter than the other two, but I hope that you liked it regardless. The next chapter will reveal what GLaDOS has decided to do with Chell! Stay tuned for more!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Beginning Note: AHA! I'm back! I'm sorry this chapter took so long to appear, I've been really busy lately with other things (mostly my birthday) and alongside that I've also had writers block, so I hope everyone can forgive me. Enjoy this chapter!**

**Also, a big shout out to The 8****th**** Dimension for being such an awesome follower and reviewer to my story alongside everyone else, you've all been so awesome! Also I'd like to thank my college friends for reading and liking my story so far! **

**-P.S I've just done a few minor adjustments to this chapter; a few word changes here and there, nothing too major, the storyline is still the same. I'll try and make a start on the next chapter as soon as I can so where I'm going with this section of the story will all make sense to everyone.**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Bring Your Daughter to Work Day**

Despite the AI's wanting to kill Chell in a new and creative way for her own entertainment, she quickly came to the conclusion that perhaps the old methods were best ones. After all, she couldn't deny her love for deadly neurotoxin, and the same method had successfully killed hundreds of Aperture scientists in the past.

The white room shook briefly; causing Chell to almost lose her already weakened balance as those dreaded neurotoxin pipe emitters crashed violently through the white wall tiles in every corner; Chell was totally surrounded.

There was a loud hiss as they activated— Chell knew that the room's air would be deadly within less than 5 minutes, and it honestly didn't seem like there was any way that she would be able to escape. Chell didn't think that it would be possible for her to feel anymore claustrophobic with the room already being small enough, but of course GLaDOS had decided to make that problem even worse by moving the white walls closer together so the room was even smaller! Chell felt like a rat in a tight cage; trapped with nowhere to run.

"Well, this is the part when I kill you. And you know what's funny? Everything you've ever wanted and tried to get in your whole life has been a failure. You never found out who your birth parents were, you never got the cake, and you didn't even last a week out on the surface." GLaDOS mocked through the rooms speakers over the loud hissing of the neurotoxin emitters.

Chell knew that this was it and that GLaDOS was right. The AI would finally kill her; going back to Aperture was a terrible mistake, how could she have even thought for a second that coming back would have been a good idea? She'd taken a chance and she'd blown it—the note from Doug seemed worthless, and it was long gone now anyway. Chell had failed.

Suddenly, the lights flickered and the room shook again as a sound of what seemed to be crushing metal came through the speakers.

Although the sound didn't sound like a good thing and it was extremely loud, GLaDOS acted strangely oblivious to it- almost like she couldn't hear it at all. Chell covered her ears as the sound upped in pitch to a continuous metallic screech.

"You think trying to ignore me will save you? Just when I thought you're actions wouldn't appear to be any dumber" She continued, barely audible over the horrific noise.

"Why don't you do yourself a favor and put your whole face in the neurotoxin emitter? That way you'll die f-f-f-f-f-f-f-fast-t-t-t-e-e-r-r-r-rRRRR...Oh, you think you're so f-f-f-funnnNYY, don't you? Still standing there trying to ignore m-m-me?" GLaDOS stuttered suddenly, as her monotone voice slowed down and deepened. Chell looked up at the camera totally confused by what was happening as the sound carried on and the lights flickered faster.

"GAHH! OoooOOOhhhHHH...What are you doing that face for?...::Are you still waiting for the _cAkE_ that you never received::?" GLaDOS asked; her voice even more distorted than a few seconds previous—something weird was going on, and Chell really didn't want to stick around to see where all of this would lead, but it wasn't like she had a choice.

Suddenly, the power shut off and the room was plunged into total darkness. Along with the lights, everything became silent. The hissing of the neurotoxin had completely stopped, and GLaDOS wasn't speaking at all anymore; it was like the whole place had just been totally shut down...

Chell would have never imagined Aperture to ever shut down; even before GLaDOS was rebooted by Wheatley the place was still running, so what was happening? Was it even possible for something like this to even happen?

* * *

The long pause of darkness mixed with the now eerie lingering silents began setting an uneasy feeling in Chell's stomach. What was going on? Chell's eyes shifted through the darkness, looking for some sort of light that would indicate that everything wasn't totally broken. Even the little red light on the observation camera wasn't on, which meant that GLaDOS was no longer watching Chell...This was Chell's chance to escape!

Chell slowly made her way around the room; hugging the walls to see if any random tiles happened to be loose so she could break them away from the wall and slip through—but of course all of this was much harder to do in the dark, and all of the wall tiles seemed tightly fixed in place. After what felt like she'd searched all of the tiles in the room for damage, she took a few steps back and sighed heavily in defeat. Her plan for escaping hadn't been successful, but she refused to give up. She walked back and forth in the darkness, trying to think of anything else that she could do to help her escape from the tiny room that she was imprisoned in.

Suddenly, the room's speakers let out a low humming sound which sent shivers down Chell's spine. Chell looked up at the direction of the camera again but the light was still switched off. GLaDOS still wasn't watching her, but she felt like something else was...

The sound turned from a low humming to what seemed like a low mechanical growl in a matter of seconds. Chell took a few steps back as the low sound slowly formed into muffled words.

_"CAROLINE" _

GLaDOS buzzed in an almost inaudible voice through the speakers. For some reason her voice didn't sound the same, she sounded more..._human_.

Chell instantly remembered the name, and at the same time it instantly confused her once again. The whole involvement with the name "Caroline" that Chell had dealt with when GLaDOS was put into a potato never really clicked into her brain because GLaDOS hadn't told her about Caroline's whole significance. The only thing that Chell managed to properly understand was that Caroline was a part of GLaDOS in one way or another, until she was supposedly "deleted".

There was a loud popping sound through the speakers, followed by a low demonic-like chuckle which sent Chell's blood to run cold.

The lights quickly flickered again for a third time and Chell's heart began instantly racing. This was almost like something straight out of a horror movie.

_"Caro-Ca-Ca-aaa-Caroline" _GLaDOS said in no higher than a whisper as the lights suddenly snapped on and light flooded the entire room; Chell couldn't help but quickly cover her eyes from the sudden blinding white light.

She looked up, still squinting from the bright light. Although it was hard for her to see at first, Chell soon noticed that the room had changed slightly; a few white wall tiles had parted and formed a rectangular door shape.

So, did this mean that Chell was free to go? Or maybe GLaDOS was going to lead her into another part of Aperture, but why? This was totally unlike GLaDOS—had she gone through a total reset?

Something strange was defiantly going on; there was no chance in hell that GLaDOS would ever let her escape (especially just before planning to kill her). But even if what was happening was out of the ordinary, Chell wouldn't miss the opportunity of escaping from the tiny room that was soon to be filled with deadly neurotoxin.

* * *

Chell made her way through the newly formed doorway and out onto a catwalk. She looked around curiously; the room that she was in now was like any other room behind the testing chambers—narrow with hardly any lighting and riddled with winding walkways and pipes miles above and below her. Chell still wondered what the whole point of this was—was this some sort of a joke that GLaDOS was trying to pull on her? Maybe she was going to die after all but GLaDOS had a more cruel idea in mind than neurotoxin, after all that method was getting old.

GLaDOS stayed silent throughout the whole of Chell's journey along the catwalk; which didn't help because she had no idea where she was going. There were hundreds of different routes that Chell could have taken, and there was no clear indication as to where each of the walkways led too. Finally after what must have been over 30 minutes of her walking and GLaDOS staying silent, Chell ended up in front of a doorway which seemed to be the entrance to a presentation room. She'd seen these sorts of rooms before throughout Aperture; each would be fairly large with a few chairs lined up in front of an overhead projector screen. Chell didn't really know what sorts of presentations would be shown in there, but she could only guess that they'd be presentations of new Aperture products that had deadly side effects.

Chell walked in; unsure of what other options she currently had, and stood in the center of the room pondering about what she could now. She was pretty sure that GLaDOS wouldn't want her in there—she knew that she'd rather have her in a deadly situation with no hope of her survival, so if she'd wanted her to come in there then this was totally out of character. The room was covered in thick layers of dust; reminding her of that little abandoned house that she'd been in previously when she found that note from Doug. "Aperture Science" logos had been deliberately placed everywhere; the scientists were obviously very proud of the company when this place was built, but she guessed that all changed when GLaDOS became self-aware and everything went downhill.

_"HELLO, MY NAME IS CAVE JOHNSON"_ a familiar male voice suddenly boomed out from a nearby wall speaker.

Chell span around on her heel in reaction to the sudden loud voice, and found that the screen for the overhead projector had light up.

_"Welcome to Aperture science; my pride and joy—I like to think of this place as if it was my own child, but of course the lab boys think I'm mentally unstable whenever I mention anything like that so I won't be mentioning it again throughout this pre-recorded message.*COUGH COUGH* Ahem! Sorry I'm not in the best of health. Please ignore my constant outbursts of my poisons side effects throughout this presentation." _

Chell took a seat on the least dusty looking chair at the front as the overhead projector screen flashed a countdown sequence of "3, 2, 1"-like when an old movie is about to begin. She had no idea what was happening; was GLaDOS showing her this on purpose?

_"Now I know the last thing you want to have happen to you and your daughter right now is to sit in a stuffy room whilst listening to me talk while you watch this presentation, but I'm trying to be professional here so your kid believes that your job is awesome, so just work with me for a few minutes. And yes, I know you're thinking that this video is a bit dated but I'll be dead by the next annual bring your daughter to work day so this will just keep being re-used. " _Cave Johnson said as the large words "Bring your daughter to work day" appeared on the screen in bold pink letters.

_"Kids, do you like science? Ever wanted to make your own miniature deadly sun out of phosphorus pentoxide? Or maybe even create your own particle beam death ray that can reach a 200 mile radius? Well you can't—apparently I'd be in a lot of trouble if I allowed you to do those things because you're all too young and unaware of the consequences. So instead we're all going to make potato batteries, because nothing says "science is cool" like a potato, a light bulb and a bunch of wiring.*COUGH, COUGH*Ahem, excuse me."_

A brief dated video of a child putting together a potato battery with the help of an adult appeared on the screen to go with Mr Johnson's narration. Chell couldn't help but immediately think back to when GLaDOS was put into a potato battery again. The whole memory of it couldn't help but make her chuckle as she watched the child clap over-excitedly when the potato powered the bulb.

_"Now then, now that I've covered pretty much everything, if you could all follow Caroline out through the side door she'll take you to the events room—she can put together a potato battery blind folded; it's one of her many talents."_

_"This way please" _GLaDOS suddenly spoke up cheerfully as a side electric door pulled open—she still didn't sound as robotic as she'd usually sound, and Chell was still freaked out by it.

Chell hesitated a little at first to walk through the doorway and follow orders; it was obvious by now that this wasn't normal behavior from GLaDOS, so the question of what this was all for was still the main thing on her mind. Was her death completely off the menu? Chell pressed on, partly intrigued by where she was being led too...

* * *

**Author's ending note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm going on vacation soon, so it may be a while before the next one is up, but it depends how long the next chapter will take me to write. Thanks for reading once again! Your feedback is always appreciated—it helps me improve my work!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Beginning Note: Hey everyone, here's another chapter! I had a bit of mixed feedback on the last chapter; some people said that it made sense, some said that it didn't etc. So in this chapter I've tried my best to sum everything up about Doug, and in the next chapter I'll also be summing up a lot of other stuff so it will make more sense to everyone who doesn't yet understand. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I really do appreciate everyone's feedback and views! **

* * *

**Chapter 5: Goodbye, you Monster.**

A light flickered off and on in the distance as the sound of Chell's footsteps on the metal walkway echoed on for what must have been miles and miles around her in the darkness. The loud clanging sounds of heavy machinery boomed continuously from somewhere in the distant background of Aperture as she made her way towards the flickering yellow light that seemed to be dimming by the second. The closer Chell got to the light the dimmer it seemed to get, and by the time Chell was close enough to reach out and touch it, it had almost gone out completely. Chell's eyes searched the darkness for anything that stuck out to her that would indicate where she was, but nothing seemed to exist among the wall of thick darkness that surrounded her and the tiny dying light bulb above her head.

**_*Click!*_**

The loud sound echoed around the room and off into the distance, which triggered the whole room to instantly come to life; A huge Aperture Science logo made from tiny blue and orange spot lights attached high up on the opposite wall light up, as hundreds of old dusty ceiling fans turned on in unison and began spinning—showing dust down over everything, including Chell. Chell coughed and sneezed uncontrollably as she brushed the dust off from her jumpsuit and attempted to remove thick clumps of it from her hair, as an Aperture Science radio that was on a nearby desk clicked on and began playing that usual tune that she'd usually hear on the radio in Aperture.

**_ Da da da daa! Da da daa, da da da daa! Da da da daa, da da da daa, DA DA DA!_** -Chell could almost whistle along with it because she knew it so well; she'd definitely been in Aperture for way to long...

After she'd finished coughing and sneezing from the dust, Chell looked up to find a familiar sight; rows of desks with sheets of cardboard folded around various mediocre science projects littered the room. On each pieces of folded cardboard were small colourful drawings and a few descriptions the science project which lay in front of them...

This was the Bring your Daughter to Work Day room that Chell had been in previously with Wheatley before he took over...

As soon as Chell thought of him her head automatically snapped up to look up above her at the moldy looking ceiling, where she instantly saw the old management rail that he'd use to navigate through Aperture, and in the back of her mind she thought that she'd see him attached to it like she remembered. It seemed that all those memories came back perhaps a little too clearly, even with her brain damage; the memory of when herself and Wheatley had both come into here when they had both planned on escaping Aperture was so clear in her head that it could have happened yesterday—although mixed with this memory of course was also Chell's realization that this was the place where Wheatley took inspiration to extract GLaDOS into a potato battery, which caused a bunch of chaos—those highly dangerous tests, Wheatley's testing euphoria, and GLaDOS's whole episode with being eaten by a bird was almost too much for one brain damage victim to handle.

"Alrighty everybody!" Caroline's voice suddenly piped up from out of nowhere, causing Chell to jump slightly. "...Before we begin, it's required that you follow the listed safety procedures before carrying out making your chosen experiments!" Caroline continued after a strange, eerie pause...

"These areas..._Follows..._Firstly, be sure to wear the provided lab goggles, lab coats, and gloves before collecting your equipment. This is a strict rule that all daughters and parents alike should follow, so you will not come in contact with any possible lurking danger when carrying out your chosen science activity! Once you have finished with your experiments, please return the safety equipment to their labelled and well organised plastic container. If you have any questions about the required safety gear, please inform an Aperture safety gear supervisor that should be present in the room with you"

"Secondly..." Caroline continued, in a more monotone voice as the lights flickered and Chell held her breath. "If you encounter any issues whilst carrying out your experiments, don't be shy!...Our Aperture science "Bring your Daughter to Work Day" staff, are always happy to answer any of your pending questions or help you if you are to run into a problem with the experiment or equipment."

"...Th-ir-dly..." She said through the speaker even more robotic; her words broken up, almost like the speaker system was breaking down. "...Ple-as-e-e, be sure to stay within the Bri-ng Your Daugh-ter to Work D-a...y assigned room; this is an important and crucial rule that _must _be followed, as leaving the room may be ::_life threatening::_ to yourself, or your da-ughte-r!"

Suddenly there was a loud **_"pop" _**and the horrid metallic screech that pierced Chell's ears previously returned. Chell covered her ears once again, as Caroline continued listing rules in the background behind the horrible noise. Her suddenly voice began becoming faster and faster until it was nothing but high pitched squeaks that Chell was expecting to shatter all of the glass that was present in the room. Then, there was a sudden moment of brief silents...

But before Chell could question whether the speaker system had broken for good or not, a dreaded familiar voice came through them in place of Caroline's...

"And finally, all those who do _not_ wish to follow the enrichment center testing initiative will be **immediately** expired through the method of deadly neurotoxin..."

* * *

What could Chell possibly do now? Run? What actually just happened? It seemed that whatever it was that temporary "broke" GLaDOS had gone now, so what was that all about? But Chell figured that she'd leave that question for later, for now she'd have to focus on her not killing her; something that she'd surly try and do...

"...That's funny...My neurotoxin emitters have reset...Never mind, that's a problem that will quickly fixed in a heartbeat. Speaking of which, that's one thing that you soon _won't_ have. You'll be dead within less than—wait...Where are you?"

Chell quickly weighed up her options, and decided that running would probably be the best thing to do...

"Oh you have _got_ to be kidding me! Well, you aren't the thinnest test subject I've ever had the pleasure to deal with; running away isn't going to save your life...In fact, you're probably going to die from a heart attack if you do that, so you may as well just come quietly".

Chell's heart was pounding yet again, she wasn't going to die, not today, not before she gets her answers. Of course this whole situation would be a whole lot simpler if she wasn't a mute, brain damaged test subject...

Chell had ran out of the "Bring Your Daughter to Work day" room in seconds; finding herself on but another walkway with 3 other directions to go in, and for a few moments Chell hesitated in which one to take.

"There you are" GLaDOS said cheerfully, as a nearby mounted wall camera turned in her direction. "You're a little further away than I expected, but no matter...This will have to do." She said, before the opposite walls began moving inward; crushing walkways and machinery as they hurdled towards Chell...This had happened before when she was running for her life with the company of Wheatley, and Chell didn't really want to experience it again—not to mention she didn't have her portal gun this time, so the risk of getting trapped and crushed was even greater.

"Goodbye...You monster"

Chell's strength and stamina was really put to the test, as she was forced to dodge falling machinery and leap across wide gaps as the ground below her feet gave way. Both walls were coming closer and closer, and with everything collapsing around her she soon knew that she'd have no more places to run to.

Her prediction was right—it wasn't long before Chell found herself trapped up against a wall in a dead end! Chell closed her eyes tightly waiting for the pressure of the closing in walls on her sides before killing her painfully. She tried to distract herself with thoughts of her past in her last moments; what it might have been like, and what she may of experienced...Loving parents? A welcoming home that she could always come back to? A bedroom to call her own that wasn't artificial like her relaxation chamber in Aperture?

The pure thought of her never being truly "home" sent an emotional pain running through her heart, and before she knew it Chell had multiple tears rolling down her cheeks.

"You're showing human emotion...That's considered, "normal" right before a human expires...That's what _he _did too...Right before a turret filled him with bullets." GLaDOS said over the sounds of falling debris.

A surge of anger suddenly shot through Chell from her words—clenching her fists she opened her eyes, only to see the walls only a few feet away from her and coming closer by the second...She was talking about Doug.

"Well, there's no stopping me telling you now; you'll be dead in a few moments anyway..."

Chell walked away from the wall, now uncaring about her approaching death and more eager to finally hear some bit of an answer.

"So I'll make this fast and simple for that dumbstruck brain of yours...That man was the only thing closest to family that you've ever had...You're adopted? Yes, by the only man brain damaged enough to take you in and accept you as his own family... But the whole "family" thing was all just make believe, even though in the end you've turned out just like him; brain damaged, and dead."

Chell's head was spinning with multiple thoughts that she knew would be her last; she knew GLaDOS knew about Doug, she knew Doug wasn't lying to her in his note, and she knew that it wasn't a so called "false trail"...Doug was her adopted father.

But the question still remained as to who her birth parents were.

"But that doesn't matter now though, does it? The only thing you can do with that new data is take it to your grave..."

**"WHO ARE MY BIRTH PARENTS?!" **Chell suddenly screamed out unexpectedly, scaring herself probably more than GLaDOS.

..."Goodbye" GLaDOS finally said reluctantly, before both walls pressed up against her arms and began pushing harder against her.

Then everything went black...

* * *

**Author's ending Note: So what did everyone think? So now we know what the whole Doug situation is (although I will be talking a little more about him in the next chapter), and Chell's had a pretty close encounter with death...Again. But, the real question is has she survived? And what actually happened to GLaDOS when Caroline took over?! Stay tuned for the next chapter to find out!**


End file.
